Host Huskers Earn No. 14 National Seed

The Nebraska softball team was selected as an NCAA Regional host after earning the No. 14 national seed when the NCAA Tournament field was announced live on ESPNU Sunday night.

The Huskers will welcome Stanford, Tulsa and Northern Iowa to Lincoln for the NCAA Lincoln Regional on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Bowlin Stadium. Stanford was an at-large selection from the Pac-12 Conference, while Tulsa was an at-large selection from Conference USA. Northern Iowa earned the Missouri Valley Conference’s automatic berth by winning the conference tournament.

Tulsa and Stanford will open the regional at 4 p.m. on Friday, with the Huskers and Panthers meeting at 7 p.m. The Lincoln Regional is matched up with the Eugene Regional, hosted by No. 3 national seed Oregon.

“I know the teams we’re hosting are truly well coached,” Nebraska Head Coach Rhonda Revelle said following the selection announcement. “I have a lot of respect for what (Northern Iowa) Coach Ryan Jacobs has done with that program. They play very hard, and they have a very talented pitcher. I’m sure he’s going to have them ready to play.”

Nebraska is making its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance, and the Huskers are hosting an NCAA Regional for the fifth time since Bowlin Stadium opened in 2002. The Huskers earned a No. 1 seed for NCAA Regional play for the first time since the NCAA adopted the regional-super regional format beginning with the 2005 season. Overall, Nebraska earned a No. 1 seed in an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2002, when the Huskers won the eight-team Iowa City Regional and advanced to the Women’s College World Series.

The Huskers were one of four Big Ten teams to make the NCAA Tournament, joining No. 8 national seed Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Nebraska owns an 8-8 record against teams in the NCAA Tournament field, including a 3-4 record against the top eight national seeds.

“It’s an exciting time for our program that we’ve earned a national seed for the first time since 2002,” Revelle said. “I feel like our body of work over the course of the whole season has really prepared us for this.”

More information on the NCAA Lincoln Regional, including ticket information, will be available on Huskers.com throughout this week